The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Ordering Wicker Baskets

Ji Huan’s outburst had an almost immediate effect.

When she had beaten Ji Mingmao with a stick at the village entrance, everyone had merely thought she was not to be trifled with. After this incident, a new consensus formed. She wasn’t just "not to be trifled with"—she couldn’t be provoked at all.

She had slapped her own aunt’s face until it was swollen. And even though everyone felt Mrs. Zhu had it coming, it still seemed... Well, they couldn’t quite find any fault in it. Every word she had said was reasonable, and her actions were entirely justified.

All they could conclude was that this girl was formidable. Whatever you did, you absolutely could not afford to get on her bad side.

The rumors about Ji Huan in the village suddenly died down.

It wasn’t that everyone completely believed her words and no longer held a shred of doubt, but rather that when weighed against their curiosity, their own faces were ultimately more important.

Ji Huan and Widow Xie found some time to visit Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s house to discuss something with her son—the one who had survived the battlefield but lost half a leg.

Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s home was on the very edge of the village. It was a crumbling thatched hut, even worse off than the dilapidated hovel Ji Huan lived in.

In the courtyard, a man over fifty years old sat on a worn-out cattail cushion, his hands never ceasing their work as he kept his head down, weaving something.

A simple shed was built in a corner against the wall. The earthen stove, made of mud bricks, was low and small. Eighty-something-year-old Sixth Ancestor Grandma sat before the opening of the pot, stirring its contents back and forth with a ladle.

Ji Huan glanced into the pot. It was a black, mushy substance, and she couldn’t tell what it was.

She stood right by the stove, but Sixth Ancestor Grandma showed no reaction.

Widow Xie pointed at her own temple, then gestured toward the old woman’s eyes. It was then that Ji Huan remembered Sixth Ancestor Grandma was blind.

’Letting an old woman of her age, with failing eyesight, cook... What if a fire starts...?’ Ji Huan turned to look at the man absorbed in weaving his basket. The pant leg on his left side was empty and flat. For a moment, Ji Huan didn’t know what to say.

Only then did Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s son notice that people had entered the courtyard.

He recognized Widow Xie, but he hesitated to identify Ji Huan.

Seeing the worried looks the two women were casting toward the stove, he gave a small smile. "I’ve already cooked the meal and put out the fire. My mother, she’s just... she’s used to the motion."

Widow Xie didn’t comment, instead introducing Ji Huan to him.

After hearing the introduction, understanding dawned on his face. "Ah, Lian Bai’s daughter... You’ve grown so big."

According to seniority, Ji Huan was to address him as Fifth Grandpa.

"Fifth Grandpa, could you see if you can weave this?" Ji Huan handed him a drawing.

On it were drawn several types of rattan baskets designed like storage boxes—square-shaped, looking both simple and elegant.

The main difference was the addition of a lid, which was attached to the basket on one side and had a hidden clasp on the opposite side to open it.

Fifth Grandpa took it and studied it carefully for a moment before nodding. "I can. I’m just afraid it won’t be to your liking."

"Nonsense. Everyone in the village knows that when it comes to basket weaving, your skills are the best, Fifth Grandpa."

Widow Xie was speaking the truth, but in reality, he wasn’t the only one they could have hired.

Rattan and willow branches could be found everywhere in the village, so every household would do some weaving in their spare time. They could at least exchange the goods for a little money in town.

Hu Liang had originally wanted to just wholesale the baskets directly from a specialty shop in town, but Ji Huan had rejected the idea.

She had heard that Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s family now consisted of only her and Fifth Grandpa. With his amputated leg, Fifth Grandpa couldn’t do any other work. He relied solely on his hands to weave small things like dustpans and baskets to support himself and his old mother.

Besides, the type of rattan basket she wanted wasn’t readily available in the town shops. Since they would have to be custom-made anyway, she figured she might as well give the work to Fifth Grandpa.

Ji Huan had been watching in the courtyard for a while. When Fifth Grandpa was weaving, he was so focused he seemed to enter his own world, not moving from his spot for a long time. Not only was his work good, but he was also fast.

She could feel completely at ease entrusting this job to him.

Fifth Grandpa smiled shyly, his hands, covered in cuts and calluses, subconsciously rubbing against his empty pant leg. "Alright, then. Since you trust me, I’ll be sure to do a good job for you!"

Before Ji Huan could speak, Sixth Ancestor Grandma suddenly "looked" over in their direction.

"Is that Da Xiang? Has he come back?"

Widow Xie sighed and whispered to Ji Huan, "Da Xiang is the one who was conscripted..."

"Da Xiang, is that you, Da Xiang?" Sixth Ancestor Grandma propped herself up against the wall and began to feel her way toward them, trembling.

Ji Huan was closer and, afraid the old woman would fall, quickly stepped forward to support her. But the old woman grabbed her arm in a tight grip.

"Da Xiang, where have you been running off to? The food’s been ready for ages. Grandma made your favorite white rice..."

The old woman’s back was bent at an almost ninety-degree angle. Even standing, she barely reached Ji Huan’s chest.

The hand gripping her was skeletal, covered in a layer of wrinkled skin and liver spots. It was a frightening sight, but Ji Huan couldn’t bear to pull away.

She had previously asked Zhen Jili to help her inquire about him. The last time he came to Dafeng Village, he had regretfully told her that there was no news of Da Xiang.

If someone with his connections and status couldn’t find anything, then he was most likely...

Ji Huan still held out a sliver of hope. ’Maybe he’s somewhere else,’ she thought, ’even though they said he was being sent to a nearby barracks when he was conscripted.’

But no news was good news. After all, if he had died in battle, the county government would surely have sent an official notice to his family.

Zhen Jili, however, had told her that plenty of soldiers were obliterated on the battlefield, their bodies never recovered. Not everyone’s soul could return home.

"Beneath the yellow sands lie vast stretches of white bones. Which one of them didn’t have parents and brothers leaning against the door, waiting for their return? But who knows their names? Perhaps in the eyes of others, they are still alive, but in truth, they are already dead. Long dead."

Ji Huan opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

She couldn’t bring herself to voice such a cruel speculation to an old woman consumed by thoughts of her grandson.

"Mother, let go of Da Xiang. He’s hungry, let him go eat." Fifth Grandpa supported himself with one hand on the ground and shuffled over, pulling on Sixth Ancestor Grandma to free Ji Huan.

"Right, right, let my dear grandson eat. I’ll go get Da Xiang a bowl of rice... Da Xiang is hungry..." Sixth Ancestor Grandma hobbled unsteadily toward the kitchen area.

Fifth Grandpa asked Ji Huan, "You weren’t scared, were you?"

Ji Huan shook her head.

"Sigh, my mother’s been confused again these past couple of days. She has her good moments and her bad..."

Widow Xie offered a few words of comfort and then led Ji Huan out of the courtyard.

On the way back, Ji Huan was silent for a long time.

Widow Xie knew she was feeling down and tried to console her. "There’s nothing to be done about it. By giving Fifth Grandpa the basket-weaving job, he can earn a little money to get by. We’ve done what we can... Sigh, they’re both getting on in years, one elderly and one disabled, and they can’t even eat a decent meal..."

Widow Xie didn’t feel good about it either.

Ji Huan asked, "What about Fifth Grandpa’s wife? And Da Xiang, was he not married before he was taken away?"

"Look at the state of Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s family, and with Fifth Grandpa’s leg... what family would let their daughter marry into that? He was a bachelor for many years. Finally, a widow took a liking to his honest and kind heart and married him. The two of them managed to get by, with one weaving baskets and the other farming. Then they had Da Xiang, a son late in life, and they doted on him like the apple of their eye. But who knew... When Da Xiang was taken, his mother went mad on the spot. She would often run out, crazed, searching the whole village for him. Fifth Grandpa couldn’t follow her, and one time she fell into the river and drowned... It’s such a shame about that boy, Da Xiang. He’s a generation older than my Liangzi, but they were the same age, just old enough to be considering marriage..."

At this, Widow Xie suddenly slapped her thigh. "This won’t do! Once we make some money this time, I’m making sure Liangzi gets married, no matter what!"

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